Good day Believers in Christ Jesus. You are all welcome to another new day. Glory to God for the gift of life.
Here is Part 497 of our series of studying and understanding the Bible, titled:
Enemies Invasion And Escape Route
Jeremiah Chapter 6 is our focus for today.
This chapter is predominantly about war against both Israel and Judah from the northern empires as prophesied by Prophet Jeremiah, which was caused by Israel and Judah’s disobedience and rebellion against God.
In order words, this prophecy of the enemy’s invasion was because of Israel and Judah’s refusal to listen to God through His Prophet and to follow His Way.
Again, I want to correct this impression that it was God who brought the enemies to attack them. No, it was not God. From our previous teachings, we have discussed this that God is good always and He remains the same yesterday, today and forever (Psalm 100:5 and Heb 13:8-9).
James warns in his epistle that when people face problems, they should stop saying it’s from God, for God cannot hurt people with evil. (James 1:13)
Apart from problems caused naturally by the virtue of living on earth, one major reason people face problems is because they allow themselves to be tempted by the devil and they become drawn away from God and they get trapped by their own evil desires. (read James 1:14).
James also further says that only good things come from God and God does not change or cause darkness by turning.
So, all these “I create darkness and evil…” mantra attributed to God by Old Testament Prophets is a wrong representation of God according to the Epistles.
And I will show you why…
The truth is that Old Testament Prophets did not have a total knowledge of God. They only knew God in types and shadows. It was when Christ came that the whole picture became clear, because Christ is the clear image and true representation of God and there was no record of Jesus doing evil in the Bible. Wait! Don’t say “but He cursed the fig tree…”
No, that’s not evil. He was only using that to teach about faith and about God’s judgement against unbelief and spiritual fruitlessness. Jesus is good. God is good. He is Love. (Acts 10:38 and 1 Cor 13:5).
Christ is the express image of God. Let’s read Hebrews 1:3 (TPT)
The Son is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendour, the exact expression of God’s true nature—his mirror image! He holds the universe together and expands it by the mighty power of his spoken word. He accomplished for us the complete cleansing of sins, and then took his seat on the highest throne at the right hand of the majestic One.
Having taken that confusion out of the way, let’s now go back to Jeremiah to look into how God instructed Jeremiah to sound the alarm for Judah to escape the coming invasion of the enemies from the north.
This will prove to you that God did not like it for His people to be molested by the enemies.
Let’s read Jeremiah 6:1 (AMP)
1“Run for safety, you children of Benjamin, Out of the midst of Jerusalem! And blow a trumpet in Tekoa [in Judah] And raise a signal-fire in Beth-haccherem [near Jerusalem]; For evil is looking down [with eager anticipation] from the north, and great destruction.
The truth is that there is no destroyer that will warn his target ahead of time that he would be coming to destroy him. The destroyer, the devil attacks people unawares and with nuance.
God knew His people would sin and He also knew that action would give the enemy the chance to attack them. Hence, the reason He always warned them ahead of time and providing a way out for them to escape.
This is exactly what God did in the garden of Eden which is a figurative description of what Christ did for humanity at Salvation.
You will also notice in verse 9 that God repeated the warnings again to Prophet Jeremiah and provided a way out. However, the people of Israel had the choice to either accept or reject the solution offered. In this case, they remained adamant and stubborn. They rejected the offer of Salvation. Let’s read…
9 The Lord Almighty said to me, “Israel will be stripped clean like a vineyard from which every grape has been picked. So you must rescue everyone you can while there is still time.”
10 I answered, “Who would listen to me if I spoke to them and warned them? They are stubborn and refuse to listen to your message; they laugh at what you tell me to say.
Kindly read also Jeremiah 6:16-17.
In our dispensation too, God has been sending us various warnings about enemy’s invasion and the devil has been devising a lot of strategies to cage people. With nuance, the devil has been deceiving even the believers and many people’s faith are already waxing cold.
You need to watch out for the following major signs in your life. They are indicators of the invasion of the devil to sift you.
- When reading and studying the Word of God is becoming a burden.
- When you can no longer worship God like before.
- When you can no longer pray or speak in tongues.
- When your prayer life is becoming weaker each new day.
- When you no longer have interest in connecting with other believers to charge you spiritually.
When you are starting to notice the above signs, it’s an indication that your life has been besieged by the enemy. They are only waiting for the final signal to strike. Before the devil strikes, he will make sure he drains his target first just like a phone battery. You will think the phone is still working and all of a sudden, the screen turns off.
The same thing happened to Samson. After he had slept with a prostitute, he was still able to uproot a city gate. He did not know his power has been drained already.
In physics, there is what we call “rotational inertia force.” It’s a force that helps an electric fan to keep rotating after it has been turned off. This is how the spiritual life of many believers and men of God alike look like now.
Wake up and stay awake! Recharge your spiritual battery now and do greater works for the Father. How? Well, you can get recharged through the same means you were discharged: studying the Word, praying, connecting with other believers to charge you, worshipping and speaking in tongues etc. And you will see your spiritual life fully charged and radiating the glory of the Lord.
To be continued…stay blessed in Christ now and always.
Let us pray:
- Every siege of the devil and his cohorts to monitor your movement in order to device strategies to strike you is hereby dismantled and scattered. Because you are in Christ already, you belong to God, you are fortified against any form of attack, in Jesus name.
- Jesus told Peter and warned him about the devil’s plan to sift him and his brethren, but He prayed for him. I join my faith with yours right now and I pray receive the grace to be victorious over life circumstances and stay faithful to God, in Jesus name.
- You are strengthened to make it your life mission to strengthen others. Receive the grace and resources to achieve this, in Jesus name.
- Every good thing that you have desired for long, but not yet manifesting in your life, the Lord God will coordinate His grace over your life and bring them to reality, in Jesus name.
- God who mandated Elijah to anoint Elisha, God who mandated Moses to anoint Aaron, God who instructed Paul to fill Timothy with virtue, the same God will mandate men to attend to your needs in various ways that you require help or any form of assistance. You will not be stranded, in Jesus name.
Bible Readings For Today: Reflection time on all the chapters you have read so far from the past six days and covering of missed chapters.
I call you blessed now and always.
Friday August 7, 2020 (DDMI)
